


Nostalgia For The Present

by QuillFeathers



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Camping, Drabble, Gen, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, POV Lance (Voltron), Team Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:39:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8204947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuillFeathers/pseuds/QuillFeathers
Summary: No. Lance didn't wake to the sound of crickets.
A small moment you know you will never forget.





	

Lance wakes to the whistling of crickets; breathes a contented sigh.

He must have dozed off.

The noise intermingled with the smell of a campfire stirs up recollection.

_He was usually one of the last ones awake on any camping trip. They would all stay up late picking out constellations. He would continue to look up even after everyone else grew bored of stargazing, slowly drifting off to the muffled words of whatever conversation was still going on interlaced with chirping insects and the wind rustling leaves._

In the distance, a quiet whistle cuts through the air again.

The burning wood almost smells like hickory, but the fragrance is stronger than it should be.

Lance dazedly blinks the world into focus.

No. He didn't wake to the sound of crickets.

Instead there is the call of some nocturnal bird that Princess Allura had identified for them earlier.

_Two short whistle-like notes bouncing after each other, a pause, another two at a slightly higher pitch._

They had stopped on a planet with breathable air, untroubling flora and fauna, and no significant civilization. It had taken him and Hunk less than three minutes to convince everyone else to camp outside while Coran and Allura did some workups on the Castle's systems.

Lance is laying on his side; a ridiculously thick, fluffy blanket underneath him and his jacket over his arm acting as a pillow. He's facing away from the campfire, its dwindling light casting shadows on the surrounding trees. Said trees are tall and thick, their deep purple leaves huge and broad near the open air and growing smaller closer to the ground. Pidge's bundled form lays a couple feet away, hair sticking out of the cocoon they've created out of a second blanket. Besides the bird calling somewhere nearby there is little noise save a periodic gentle wind that rustles the tops of the trees and muffled words behind him.

Rolling over, he notes that he must have been sleeping longer than he thought. The glow from the nearby Castle of Lions stands out starkly against the dark and the fire is really just embers now. Occasionally sparks pop from between the charred bark and tiny flames dance up. Hunk is laying on his back on the other side, also asleep. Several pieces of some part he'd been working are scattered at his feet.

Lured by the comforting sight of the fading fire and the cool breeze across his face, his consciousness tries to drift off.

Hunk mumbles something that distinctly sounds like 'food goo'.

There's a soft chuckle to the right.

An upward tilt of his head brings Shiro and Keith into Lance's line of sight. They're sitting cross-legged side by side. Shiro's back is straight but the line of his shoulders is relaxed as he smirks at Hunk. Keith sighs and stretches his legs, resting his feet on a rock that's acting as a perimeter to the fire and leaning back on his arms.

Hunk mumbles something else and rolls over.

There's an answering string of muttering behind Lance and suddenly Pidge is nestling themselves closer to him. He tries not to shake with laughter when they make an annoyed noise as they bump into his back, but they settle again with a heavy exhale a moment later.

Lance is grinning when he glances back to the other two Paladins still awake. They're both looking at him now, the firelight glinting off amusement in their eyes. He cans sense them smiling; an upward tilt to the corners of Keith's lips and a fond smile on Shiro's face. The former moves to lay down on his back, gaze turning up. Lance can make out the slight shift to Shiro's head as he looks at each team member one last time before stretching his legs out to mirror Keith.

Slowly, so he doesn't wake Pidge, Lance shifts to his back and looks up too.

_There were sayings about friends being the family you choose for yourself; how family was not just who you shared blood with. There were sayings about home being where the heart is; how home was not really a place but a feeling._

No. Lance didn't wake to the sound of crickets.

Yet there is the smell of a campfire, a quiet conversation, and a night sky filled with stars above him.

The bird calls again.

_Two notes, a pause, another two._

In the distance, ever so faintly, Lance hears another answer.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Went camping and the little idea for this scene got stuck in my head.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
